


just the right amount of tipsy and lonely

by perksofbeingabooknerd



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Cute, Drabble, F/M, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 04:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2678678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perksofbeingabooknerd/pseuds/perksofbeingabooknerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you...wanna dance?"<br/>"Do you even know how to dance?"<br/>"No."<br/>"Well then, I guess I'll have to teach you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	just the right amount of tipsy and lonely

**Author's Note:**

> this is a prompt requested by thatgingerkiwichick.tumblr.com

It had been two and a half years since the birthday disaster.

Two years since Bea had hugged her cousin goodbye and left with Ben to travel the world.

It was her last year of high school, and Hero was standing alone in a living room with a drink in her hand, at her first party in forever.

She wouldn’t have gone at all. She would’ve rather done something with Ursula or Verges, but Bea had urged her to go on their Skype call a week ago.

“Hero, you have to go,” Bea had said. “I don’t want you to mope. You can take Ursula with you!”

But Ursula had turned out to be busy, so Hero went alone.

She contented herself with watching her drunken classmates make fools of themselves, until she spotted John in a corner, doing the same.

It wasn’t a shock, seeing him. They hadn’t completely avoided each other, but they hadn’t exactly gone out of their way to interact with each other either. They talked, sometimes. Mostly polite conversation and questions about schoolwork.

But it was Hero's last year of high school, and she was bored, and just the right amount of tipsy and lonely, so she ended up at his side. He glanced down at her, startled. Hero gave him a nod. She didn’t feel it was quite right to smile at him in greeting, at least not yet.

“Um, hi?”

“We don’t have to talk, I just didn’t feel like standing by myself,” she replied bluntly.

His brow furrowed as he tried to think of something to say. Out of all the people who would join him, he never expected it to be Hero Duke. And he’d never expected her to say something like that.

“Right, right.”

They spent the next fifteen minutes like that, sipping from their drinks occasionally and just watching the scene around them. Abruptly, John turned to Hero.

“Um…”

Hero looked up at him.

“Do you…wanna dance?”

She laughed, but not unkindly. “Do you even know how to dance?”

“No,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Well then, I guess I’ll have to teach you.” Hero grabbed his drink and set it down on the table nearest them, along with her own. She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the middle of the living room, where a few people were dancing already. Well, dancing wasn’t quite the right word. Some people were so drunk that they just swayed from side to side, and occasionally fell over.

John stood awkwardly in front of her, his whole body stiff. Suddenly Hero’s heart went out to him. He must’ve known what she was feeling, especially now that she was all alone. For the first time in her life, she sympathized with John Donaldson; they may have been completely opposite, but their loneliness was one thing they had in common.

“Okay, so…” Hero began. “There are specific moves, but you can also just do your own thing and let the music guide you.”

John still looked panicked, but did what she suggested and started slowly bobbing his head.

“That’s it,” she said, giving him a small smile. She started to move her body to the music too, the beat coursing through her. She could tell he was gaining confidence when he mirrored her movements and let himself relax.

“Do I look completely rubbish?”

“No, you’re good. I’m not exactly the most graceful dancer either. And look around! Everyone’s probably too drunk to notice if we’re shit anyway.”

He smiled gratefully at her. Hero knew she shouldn’t be this nice to him—Bea would never understand or approve—but she couldn’t help returning his smile. After all, she was actually starting to have fun.

Hero never expected to hang out with John Donaldson at some stupid high school party. She didn’t expect to enjoy his company. She didn’t expect to spend the next two hours with him in that living room, dancing terribly and laughing whenever someone drunkenly stumbled around the room. And she definitely didn’t expect missing him when she went home long after the party had dissipated.

Hero never thought she would’ve enjoyed that lonely night. But she did.

She didn’t mention John when Bea asked about the party. It was just something she wanted to keep to herself.


End file.
